X-ray image capturing and interpretation system with cassette and mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A cassette allows radiation image information stored therein to be used immediately after an X-ray radiation image is captured in a patient&#39;s room, and a mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus incorporates such a cassette. The mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus has a cradle serving as a mount for receiving the cassette which has a radiation detector. The mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus captures a radiation image of the patient (subject) in the patient&#39;s room. The cassette serves as a mobile station. While the cassette (mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus) is moving, the radiation image information stored in the cassette is transmitted to a server via a transmitting and receiving terminal, a mobile hospital communication network, and a hospital LAN.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and is a Continuation-In-Part applicationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/219,598, filed on Jul. 24, 2008,and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Applications No.2007-192076 filed on Jul. 24, 2007, No. 2007-212243 filed on Aug. 16,2007, No. 2008-153998 filed on Jun. 12, 2008 and No. 2008-154112 filedon Jun. 12, 2008 of which the contents are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an X-ray image capturing andinterpretation system including a cassette having a radiation conversionpanel for detecting a radiation that has passed through a subject andconverting the detected radiation into radiation image information, anda mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus which uses such a cassette.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the medical field, there have widely been used radiation imagecapturing apparatus which apply a radiation to a subject and guide theradiation that has passed through the subject to a radiation conversionpanel, which capture a radiation image from the radiation. Known formsof the radiation conversion panel include a conventional radiation filmfor recording a radiation image by way of exposure, and a stimulablephosphor panel for storing a radiation energy representing a radiationimage in a phosphor and reproducing the radiation image as stimulatedlight by applying stimulating light to the phosphor. The radiation filmwith the recorded radiation image is supplied to a developing device todevelop the radiation image, or the stimulable phosphor panel issupplied to a reading device to read and obtain the radiation image as avisible image.

In the operating room or the like, it is necessary to read out arecorded radiation image immediately from a radiation conversion panelafter the radiation image is captured for the purpose of quickly andappropriately treating the patient. As a radiation conversion panelwhich meets such a requirement, there has been developed a radiationdetector having a solid-state detector for converting a radiationdirectly into an electric signal or converting a radiation into visiblelight with a scintillator and then converting the visible light into anelectric signal to read a detected radiation image.

In recent years, there have been growing demands for capturing an imageof a critically ill patient who cannot easily be moved out of his or herroom and also for capturing an image in emergency in an operating room.As a result, there have been increasing needs for apparatus which allowsurgeons or doctors to confirm, quickly with high image quality, imagesthat have been captured in clinical and surgical environments other thanX-ray image capturing rooms.

To meet such needs, mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus have beenproposed as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.2004-141473 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-013310.

According to the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus disclosed inJapanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-141473, the radiationimage of a patient is captured and the radiation image information isrecorded in a cassette having a radiation detector, and the recordedradiation image information is transferred from the cassette via anexternal interface to a storage medium or a display unit by way ofwireless communications immediately after the radiation imageinformation is captured. Alternatively, the cassette with the radiationimage information recorded therein is carried to a room where images canbe displayed, and only the cassette is connected to a display unit or astorage medium in the room and the radiation image information istransferred from the cassette to the display unit or the storage medium.

According to the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus disclosed inJapanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-013310, the radiationimage information of a patient is captured and recorded in a cassette,and the cassette is carried to a position within the communication rangeof a cassette box, whereupon the cassette automatically startstransferring the radiation image information to the cassette box.

The mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus may be required to store theradiation image information of a plurality of patients or a plurality ofpieces of radiation image information of a single patient in an imagememory in the cassette.

Since the radiation image information has a large volume of data, theimage memory in the cassette needs to be of a large storage capacity forstoring the radiation image information of plural patients or the pluralpieces of radiation image information of a single patient.

There has been a demand for the quick transmission of radiation imageinformation that has been recorded in the cassette in an image capturingsite by the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus, to a radiation imageinformation archival facility such as a server or the like withoutdelay.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an X-ray imagecapturing and interpretation system including a cassette which iscapable of transmitting a plurality of items of radiation imageinformation to a radiation image information collecting facility such asa server or the like without delay even if the storage capacity of animage memory incorporated in the cassette is small, and a mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus which uses such a cassette.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an X-ray imagecapturing and interpretation system including a mobile X-ray imagecapturing apparatus which is capable of transmitting radiation imageinformation captured in a cassette at an image capturing site by themobile X-ray image capturing apparatus to a radiation image informationcollecting facility without delay, and which is capable of using asmall, lightweight cassette.

A cassette according to the present invention includes a radiationdetector for detecting a radiation that has passed through a subject andconverting the detected radiation into radiation image information, animage memory for storing the converted radiation image informationtherein, a transmitting and receiving terminal, and a controller forcontrolling the radiation detector, the image memory, and thetransmitting and receiving terminal, wherein the transmitting andreceiving terminal serves as a mobile station and communicates with aradiation image information collecting facility through a mobilecommunication network, and when the controller detects that theradiation image information is stored in the image memory, thecontroller transmits the radiation image information stored in the imagememory to the radiation image information collecting facility via thetransmitting and receiving terminal and the mobile communicationnetwork, while the cassette is moving.

When the controller of the cassette detects that the radiation imageinformation is stored in the image memory, the controller transmits theradiation image information stored in the image memory to the radiationimage information collecting facility via the transmitting and receivingterminal and the mobile communication network, while the cassette ismoving. Therefore, the radiation image information can be utilizedquickly after it is captured.

After the radiation image information is sent to the radiation imageinformation collecting facility, new radiation image information can bestored in the image memory again. While the cassette is moving nexttime, the radiation image information newly stored in the image memorycan be transmitted to the radiation image information collectingfacility via the transmitting and receiving terminal and the mobilecommunication network. Accordingly, a plurality of items of radiationimage information can be transmitted to the radiation image informationcollecting facility (server) without delay.

If the mobile communication network includes a plurality of basestations having partially overlapping communication ranges, and thetransmitting and receiving terminal comprises a mobile terminal capableof sending and receiving signals by way of wireless communications, suchas a PHS terminal, for example, then an existing communicationinfrastructure can be used. The mobile terminal may instead be aterminal having the same radio-wave oscillation intensity as PHSterminals.

According to the present invention, there is also provided a mobileX-ray image capturing apparatus including a mount for detachablyattaching the above cassette thereon and supplying electric power to thecassette.

The cassette may be loaded in the mount of the mobile X-ray imagecapturing apparatus, and may be moved to a room where an image is to becaptured, e.g., an operating room, a patient's room, a diagnosis andtreatment room, a home care room, that is, a room other than an X-rayroom. After radiation image information is captured in the cassette, thecassette is loaded in the mount of the mobile X-ray image capturingapparatus. While the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus is moving,the captured radiation image information can be transmitted from thetransmitting and receiving terminal of the cassette to the radiationimage information collecting facility, using electric power suppliedfrom the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus.

According to the present invention, there is also provided a mobileX-ray image capturing apparatus for capturing a radiation image of asubject in a room where an image is captured, comprising a radiationsource for applying a radiation to the subject, a mount for receivingtherein a cassette having a radiation detector for detecting a radiationhaving passed through the subject and converting the detected radiationinto radiation image information and storing the radiation imageinformation, an image memory, a transmitting and receiving terminal, anda controller for controlling the radiation source, the mount, the imagememory, and the transmitting and receiving terminal, wherein thetransmitting and receiving terminal serves as a mobile station andcommunicates with a radiation image information collecting facilitythrough a mobile communication network, and when the controller detectsthat the radiation image information is stored in the cassette mountedin the mount, the controller transmits the radiation image informationfrom the cassette via the mount to the image memory for storing theradiation image information therein, and while the mobile X-ray imagecapturing apparatus is moving, the controller transmits the radiationimage information stored in the image memory to the radiation imageinformation collecting facility via the transmitting and receivingterminal and the mobile communication network.

When the controller of the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatusdetects that the radiation image information is stored in the cassettemounted in the mount of the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus, thecontroller transmits the radiation image information from the cassettevia the mount to the image memory for storing the radiation imageinformation therein, and while the mobile X-ray image capturingapparatus is moving, the controller transmits the radiation imageinformation stored in the image memory to the radiation imageinformation collecting facility via the transmitting and receivingterminal and the mobile communication network. Accordingly, the cassetteis not required to have a wireless communication function and hence mayhave a small power requirement. The cassette can thus be small in sizeand weight and can be carried around with ease.

Inasmuch as the radiation image information is sent to the radiationimage information collecting facility (server) while the mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus is moving, the radiation image information canbe utilized quickly after the radiation image information is captured.

The mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus further includes an exitdetecting mechanism for detecting that the mobile X-ray image capturingapparatus has moved out of the room. Since the controller startstransmitting the radiation image information to the radiation imageinformation collecting facility when the exit detecting mechanismdetects that the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus has moved out ofthe room, radio waves are not transmitted or received in the room wherethe image has been captured.

The mobile communication network includes a plurality of base stationshaving partially overlapping communication ranges, and the transmittingand receiving terminal comprises an existing mobile terminal, i.e., aPHS terminal, mounted in the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus andcapable of sending and receiving signals by way of wirelesscommunications. Accordingly, an existing communication infrastructurecan be used without the need for a new communication infrastructure foruse between the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus and the radiationimage information collecting facility. The mobile terminal may insteadbe a terminal having the same radio-wave oscillation intensity as PHSterminals.

The room where the image is captured may comprise a room other than anX-ray room, for example, an operating room, a patient's room, adiagnosis and treatment room, or a home care room.

Even if the storage capacity of the image memory of the cassette issmall, the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus can send a pluralityof items of radiation image information to the radiation imageinformation collecting facility (server) without delay.

According to the present invention, the mobile X-ray image capturingapparatus is capable of transmitting the radiation image informationcaptured in the cassette at the image capturing site by the mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus to the radiation image information collectingfacility without delay. The mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus canuse a small, lightweight cassette.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following description whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which preferredembodiments of the present invention are shown by way of illustrativeexample.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram, partly in block form, of a hospitalradiation image information collecting system incorporating a pluralityof mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram, partly in block form, showing the mannerin which one of the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus shown in FIG.1 is used in a patient's room, for example;

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a console of the mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view, partly cut away, showing internalstructural details of a cassette according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a transmitting and receivingterminal of the cassette shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of a radiation detector and acassette controller of the cassette shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram, partly in block form, of a wide-arearadiation image information collecting system which includes thehospital radiation image information collecting system;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram, partly in block form, of a hospitalradiation image information collecting system incorporating a pluralityof mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram, partly in block form, showing the mannerin which one of the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus shown in FIG.8 is used in a patient's room, for example;

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of a transmitting and receivingterminal of the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of a console of the mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view, partly cut away, showing internalstructural details of a cassette according to another embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram of a radiation detector and acassette controller of the cassette shown in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram, partly in block form, of a wide-arearadiation image information collecting system;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a cassette according to still anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a cradle for charging a battery in thecassette; and

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram, partly in block form, of a wide-arearadiation image information collecting system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Like or corresponding parts are denoted by line or correspondingreference characters throughout views.

FIG. 1 shows a hospital radiation image information collecting system 10incorporating a plurality of mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12according to an embodiment of the present invention. Each of the mobileX-ray image capturing apparatus 12 is used with a cassette 24 accordingto an embodiment of the present invention, and includes a cradle (mount)26 for receiving the cassette 24 removably therein.

The mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12 are movable in a patient'sroom 110, aisles 126, an examination room (diagnosis and treatment room)112, an operating room 114, a management room 116, and an imagecapturing room (X-ray room, radiological room) 118 in a hospital.

The hospital radiation image information collecting system 10 has twocommunication networks including a hospital LAN (hospital communicationnetwork) 100 for use as an intranet and a mobile hospital communicationnetwork 104 connected to a public network 102. The hospital LAN 100 andthe mobile hospital communication network 104 are connected to eachother for mutual data communications.

The hospital LAN 100 is connected to consoles (including computers) 120that serves as controllers respectively in the patient's room 110, theexamination room 112, the operating room 114, and the image capturingroom 118 which houses a fixed X-ray image capturing apparatus, notshown, and is also connected to a server (controller) 121 which can beused as both a collecting facility and a console in the management room116. The server 121 generally manages radiation image informationhandled in a radiology department of the hospital and other information,for example.

A plurality of base stations 124, which are connected to the mobilehospital communication network 104, are disposed and the base stations124 have respective communication ranges 122 such that the communicationranges 122 of adjacent ones of the base stations 124 overlap each other.

The communication ranges 122 of the base stations 124 do not extend intothe patient's room 110, the examination room 112, the operating room114, and the image capturing room 118, but the communication ranges 122of some of the base stations 124 cover the management room 116 and theaisles 126.

FIG. 2 shows the manner in which one of the mobile X-ray image capturingapparatus 12 is used in the patient's room 110, for example. As shown inFIG. 2, the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12 is integrallyplaced on a carriage 13 so as to be movable into the patient's room 110.

The mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12 placed on the carriage 13includes a console 14 having a display for entering image capturinginformation or the like for capturing radiation image information, aradiation source controller 22 for controlling a radiation source 16according the image capturing information supplied from the console 14to apply a radiation X to a subject, e.g., a patient 18, the cradle(cassette mount) 26 for receiving the cassette 24 which houses aradiation detector 40 for recording radiation image information of thepatient 18 when it is irradiated with the radiation X that has passedthrough the patient 18, and a battery 27. The battery 27 supplieselectric power to the console 14, the radiation source 16, the radiationsource controller 22, and the cassette 24 via the cradle 26.

The radiation source 16 is coupled to the radiation source controller 22by an arm 29. The battery 27 can be charged by a charger 31 connectedthereto.

The carriage 13 also carries thereon a speed sensor 32 for detectingwhether or not the carriage 13 moves, and a positional sensor 33including a navigation system utilizing the Global Positioning System(GPS) having a function to detect the current position of the carriage13 and give navigation to the destination.

FIG. 3 shows in function block form the console 14 of the mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus 12. The console 14 comprises a consolecontroller 130, an image capturing switch 132, an image capturingcondition manager 134 for managing image capturing conditions requiredfor capturing radiation images based on the radiation X from theradiation source 16, a patient information manager 140 for managingpatient information of the subject (patient) 18 whose image is to becaptured, an ID memory 142 for storing ID information for identifyingthe mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12, a display unit 14 d suchas a liquid crystal display unit, and a call unit 14 s composed of aspeaker, a microphone, etc., and used as a handset, a loudspeaker, andthe like. The speed sensor 32 and the positional sensor 33 are connectedto the console controller 130.

The image capturing conditions refer to condition for determining a tubevoltage, a tube current, an irradiation time, etc. required to apply aradiation X at an appropriate dose to an area of the patient 18 to beimaged. The image capturing conditions may include an area of thepatient 18 to be imaged, an image capturing method, etc., for example.The patient information refers to information for identifying thepatient 18, such as the name, gender, patient ID number, etc. of thepatient 18. Ordering information for instructing the mobile X-ray imagecapturing apparatus 12 to capture a radiation image, including the imagecapturing conditions and the patient information, can be set directly onthe console 14 or can be acquired in advance from the server 121 via thehospital LAN 100 through a cable, not shown, by which the console 14 isconnected to the console 120 in the patient's room 110 or the like.

The console controller 130 is connected to the cradle 26 by a connector144 thereof. When the cassette 24 is mounted in the cradle 26, thecassette 24 is electrically connected to the connector 144 by aconnector 48 thereof. The console controller 130 supplies electric powerfrom the battery 27 to the cassette 24 through the connectors 144, 48,and communicates with the cassette 24 through a cassette controller 46(see FIG. 6) thereof.

FIG. 4 shows in perspective internal structural details of the cassette24. As shown in FIG. 4, the cassette 24 has a casing 34 made of amaterial permeable to the radiation X. The casing 34 houses therein agrid 38 for removing scattered rays of the radiation X from the patient18, a radiation detector (radiation conversion panel) 40 for detectingthe radiation X that has passed through the patient 18, and a lead plate42 for absorbing back scattered rays of the radiation X. The grid 38,the radiation detector 40, and the lead plate 42 are successivelyarranged in that order named from an irradiated surface 36 of the casing34 which is irradiated with the radiation X. The irradiated surface 36of the casing 34 may be constructed as the grid 38.

The casing 34 also houses therein a battery 44 as a power supply of theradiation detecting cassette 24, a cassette controller 46 for energizingthe radiation detector 40 with electric power supplied from the battery44, and a transmitting and receiving terminal 28 for sending andreceiving signals including the information of the radiation X detectedby the radiation detector 40, to and from the server 121 in themanagement room 116 via the mobile hospital communication network 104.The connector 48 is mounted on the cassette controller 46. The battery44 of the cassette 24 and a battery 268 (see FIG. 5) of the transmittingand receiving terminal 28 are charged by the battery 27 of the mobileX-ray image capturing apparatus 12 through the connector 144 (see FIG.3), the connector 48, and the cassette controller 46. As describedabove, the cassette controller 46 and the console controller 130communicate with each other through the connector 48 and the connector144.

A shield plate of lead or the like should preferably be placed betweenthe side surface of the cassette controller 46 and the irradiatedsurface 36 of the casing 34 to protect the cassette controller 46against damage which would otherwise be caused if that were irradiatedwith the radiation X.

FIG. 5 shows in functional block form the transmitting and receivingterminal 28 of the cassette 24. The transmitting and receiving terminal28 may comprise a PHS terminal which is an existing mobile terminal.

The transmitting and receiving terminal 28 comprises a battery 268 and aterminal controller 240 having a microcomputer, which comprises a CPUand a memory 242 as a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory or thelike.

An operation unit 250 having operation switches, a display unit 248comprising a liquid crystal display, a call unit 249 composed of aspeaker, a microphone, etc., and used as a handset, loudspeaker, and thelike are connected to the terminal controller 240. The transmitting andreceiving terminal 28 should preferably be disposed in the cassette 24such that the display unit 248 can be seen from outside. The displayunit 248 and the call unit 249 are preferably disposed on the cassette24 such that the display unit 248 and the call unit 249 are operablefrom outside when the cassette 24 is placed in the cradle 26.

To the terminal controller 240, there is also connected a receiver 254for receiving radio waves (RF signal) received by an antenna 264 via anantenna sharing unit 266, converting the RF signal into anintermediate-frequency signal, demodulating the intermediate-frequencysignal, and outputting the demodulated intermediate-frequency signal asreceived data to the terminal controller 240. The terminal controller240 monitors a signal from the receiver 254 at constant intervals. Ifreceived data are transmitted, the terminal controller 240 controls thereceiver 254 to receive the data, and displays the contents of thereceived data on the display unit 248.

To the terminal controller 240, there is also connected a transmitter256 for modulating data (radiation image information or the like) readout from an image memory 82 (see FIG. 6) into an intermediate-frequencysignal, converting the intermediate-frequency signal into an RF signal,and sending the RF signal through the antenna sharing unit 266 to theantenna 264, from which a radio wave based on the RF signal is radiated.

A frequency synthesizer 258 for outputting a located oscillationfrequency for mixer circuits of the receiver 254 and the transmitter 256is connected to the terminal controller 240.

FIG. 6 shows in block form the radiation detector 40 and the cassettecontroller 46 of the cassette 24. As shown in FIG. 6, the radiationdetector 40 comprises an array of thin-film transistors (TFTs) 52arranged in rows and columns, a photoelectric conversion layer 51 madeof a material such as amorphous selenium (a-Se) for generating electriccharges upon detection of the radiation X, the photoelectric conversionlayer 51 being disposed over the array of TFTs 52, and an array ofstorage capacitors 53 connected to the photoelectric conversion layer51. When the radiation X is applied to the radiation detector 40, thephotoelectric conversion layer 51 generates electric charges, and thestorage capacitors 53 store the generated electric charges. Then, theTFTs 52 are turned on along each row at a time to read out the electriccharges from the storage capacitors 53 as an image signal. In FIG. 6,the photoelectric conversion layer 51 and one of the storage capacitors53 are shown as a pixel 50, and the pixel 50 is connected to one of theTFTs 52. Details of the other pixels 50 are omitted from illustration.Since amorphous selenium tends to change its structure and lose itsfunctionality at high temperatures, it needs to be used within a certaintemperature range. Therefore, some means for cooling the radiationdetector 40 should preferably be provided in the cassette 24.

The TFTs 52 connected to the respective pixels 50 are connected torespective gate lines 54 extending parallel to the rows and respectivesignal lines 56 extending parallel to the columns. The gate lines 54 areconnected to a line scanning driver 58, and the signal lines 56 areconnected to a multiplexer 66 serving as a reading circuit.

The gate lines 54 are supplied with control signals Von, Voff forturning on and off the TFTs 52 along the rows from the line scanningdriver 58. The line scanning driver 58 comprises a plurality of switchesSW1 for switching between the gate lines 54 and an address decoder 60for outputting a selection signal for selecting one of the switches SW1at a time. The address decoder 60 is supplied with an address signalfrom the cassette controller 46.

The signal lines 56 are supplied with electric charges stored in thestorage capacitors 53 of the pixels 50 through the TFTs 52 arranged inthe columns. The electric charges supplied to the signal lines 56 areamplified by amplifiers 62 connected respectively to the signal lines56. The amplifiers 62 are connected through respective sample and holdcircuits 64 to the multiplexer 66. The multiplexer 66 comprises aplurality of switches SW2 for switching between the signal lines 56 andan address decoder 68 for outputting a selection signal for selectingone of the switches SW2 at a time. The address decoder 68 is suppliedwith an address signal from the cassette controller 46. The multiplexer66 has an output terminal connected to an A/D converter 70. A radiationimage signal generated by the multiplexer 66 based on the electriccharges from the sample and hold circuits 64 is converted by the A/Dconverter 70 into a digital image signal representing radiation imageinformation, which is supplied to the cassette controller 46.

The cassette controller 46 comprises an address signal generator 80 forsupplying address signals to the address decoder 60 of the line scanningdriver 58 and the address decoder 68 of the multiplexer 66 of theradiation detector 40, an image memory 82 for storing the radiationimage information detected by the radiation detector 40, a cassette IDmemory 84 for storing cassette ID information for identifying thecassette 24, and an interface 86.

The interface 86 receives a transmission request signal for radiationimage information via the transmitting and receiving terminal 28 andtransmits the cassette ID information stored in the cassette ID memory84 and the radiation image information stored in the image memory 82.

The cassette 24 and the hospital radiation image information collectingsystem 10 incorporating the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12are basically constructed as described above, and operation of thecassette 24 and the hospital radiation image information collectingsystem 10 will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12 isused when a radiation image of the patient 18 is required by the doctorwhile the doctor is visiting the patient's room 110. Before a radiationimage of the patient 18 is captured, patient information of the patient18 to be imaged is registered in the patient information manager 140 ofthe console 14. If an area of the patient 18 to be imaged and an imagecapturing method have already been known, they are registered as imagecapturing conditions in the image capturing condition manager 134. Afterthe above preparatory process is finished, a radiation image of thepatient 18 is captured.

For capturing a radiation image of the patient 18, the doctor or theradiological technician places the cassette 24 in a given position whichfaces the radiation source 16 across the patient 18 with the irradiatedsurface 36 facing the radiation source 16, that is, sets the imagecapturing procedures and the image capturing methods. Then, the doctoror the radiological technician turns on the image capturing switch 132to capture a radiation image of the patient 18.

The radiation source controller 22 acquires image capturing conditionsabout the area of the patient 18 to be imaged from the image capturingcondition manager 134 of the console 14 via the console controller 130.When the radiation source controller 22 receives the image capturingconditions, it controls the radiation source 16 to apply a radiation Xat a given dose to the patient 18 according to the acquired imagecapturing conditions.

The radiation X which has passed through the patient 18 is applied tothe grid 38, which removes scattered rays from the radiation X. Then,the radiation X is applied to the radiation detector 40, and convertedinto electric signals by the photoelectric conversion layer 51 of thepixels 50 of the radiation detector 40. The electric signals are storedas electric charges in the storage capacitors 53 (see FIG. 6). Thestored electric charges, which represent radiation image information ofthe patient 18, are read out from the storage capacitors 53 according toaddress signals which are supplied from the address signal generator 80of the cassette controller 46 to the line scanning driver 58 and themultiplexer 66.

Specifically, in response to the address signal supplied from theaddress signal generator 80, the address decoder 60 of the line scanningdriver 58 outputs a selection signal to select one of the switches SW1,which supplies the control signal Von to the gates of the TFTs 52connected to the gate line 54 corresponding to the selected switch SW1.In response to the address signal supplied from the address signalgenerator 80, the address decoder 68 of the multiplexer 66 outputs aselection signal to successively turn on the switches SW2 to switchbetween the signal lines 56 for thereby reading out the electric chargesstored in the storage capacitors 53 of the pixels 50 connected throughthe signal lines 56 to the selected gate line 54 selected by the linescanning driver 58.

The electric charges read out from the storage capacitors 53 of thepixels 50 connected to the selected gate line 54 of the radiationdetector 40 are amplified by the respective amplifiers 62, sampled bythe sample and hold circuits 64, and supplied to the multiplexer 66.Based on the supplied electric charges, the multiplexer 66 generates andsupplies a radiation image signal to the A/D converter 70, whichconverts the radiation image signal into a digital signal. The digitalsignal which represents the radiation image information is temporallystored in the image memory 82 of the cassette controller 46.

Similarly, the address decoder 60 of the line scanning driver 58successively turns on the switches SW1 to switch between the gate lines54 according to the address signal supplied from the address signalgenerator 80. The electric charges stored in the storage capacitors 53of the pixels 50 connected to the successively selected gate lines 54are read out through the signal lines 56, and processed by themultiplexer 66 and the A/D converter 70 into digital signals. Thedigital signals which represent the radiation image information arestored in the image memory 82 of the cassette controller 46.

After having captured the radiation image information, the cassette 24is placed in the cradle 26 of the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus12.

When the connectors 48, 144 are connected to each other at this time,the console controller 130 supplies the patient information of thepatient 18 registered in the patient information manager 140 to theinterface 86 via the connectors 144, 48. The interface 86 associates theradiation image information stored in the image memory 82 with thesupplied patient information, and stores the radiation image informationassociated with the supplied patient information in the image memory 82.

Thereafter, the interface 86 will permit the radiation image informationto be transferred through the transmitting and receiving terminal 28 tothe mobile hospital communication network 104. Since the patient's room110 is not covered by the communication range 122 of the correspondingbase stations 124, the transmitting and receiving terminal 28 does notsend the radiation image information as long as the mobile X-ray imagecapturing apparatus 12 is positioned in the patient's room 110.

When the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12 moves out of thepatient's room 110 and the cassette 24 (the transmitting and receivingterminal 28 thereof) enters the communication range 122 of thecorresponding base stations 124, or, in other words, when thetransmitting and receiving terminal 28 detects a predeterminedradio-wave intensity from the base station 124, the transmitting andreceiving terminal 28 indicates the detection of the predeterminedradio-wave intensity to the interface 86 (the cassette controller 46).

The interface 86 then reads out the radiation image information from theimage memory 82 and transfers the read radiation image information tothe terminal controller 240 of the transmitting and receiving terminal28. The terminal controller 240 sends the radiation image informationsent from the image memory 82 via the interface 86 to the base station124 through the antenna sharing unit 266 and the antenna 264. The basestation 124 transfers the received radiation image information to theserver 121 in the management room 116 via the mobile hospitalcommunication network 104 and the hospital LAN 100.

The radiation image information transferred to the server 121 in themanagement room 116 can immediately be sent through the hospital LAN 100and used for examination and interpretation by the doctor or the likewho handles the console 120 in the examination room 112, for example. Inthis case, the examination room 112 is also used as an imageinterpretation site where the radiation image information is read andinterpreted.

As shown in FIG. 1, since the communication ranges 122 of adjacent onesof the base stations 124 overlap each other while the mobile X-ray imagecapturing apparatus 12 is moving down the aisle or aisles 126 from thepatient's room 110 to the examination room 112 or to another patient'sroom 110, not shown, the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12 canswitch successively to communication ranges 122 of greater radio-waveintensities. Accordingly, the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12can transfer the radiation image information reliably to the server 121without communication interruptions while being in motion down the aisleor aisles 126. When the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12captures radiation image information in the next patient's room 110, thecaptured radiation image information can thus be stored in the imagememory 82 of the same cassette 24, by overwriting any existing radiationimage information. The image memory 82 of the cassette 24 is usually ofa storage capacity for recording the radiation image information onlyfor a sheet of radiation image.

Therefore, even though the storage capacity of the image memory 82 ofthe cassette 24 is small, i.e., can store only the radiation imageinformation for one image capturing, the mobile X-ray image capturingapparatus 12 can send the radiation image information of patients 18 ina plurality of patient's rooms 110 to the server 121 as a radiationimage collecting facility without delay.

Instead of determining whether the cassette 24 is in the patient's room110 or not, i.e., whether or not the cassette 24 has moved out of thepatient's room 110, based on the communication ranges 122, an exitdetecting mechanism for detecting whether the cassette 24 has moved outof the patient's room 110 or not may comprise an RFID card attached tothe cassette 24 and an RFID card reader attached to the patient's room110 near its door. The cassette 24 may be detected as moving out of thepatient's room 110 when the RFID card reader detects a radio waveradiated from the RFID card attached to the cassette 24.

The cassette 24 may also be detected as moving if the console controller130 judges that the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12 is movingbased on a signal from the speed sensor 32 and/or the positional sensor33 at the time the cassette 24 is connected to the console 14 throughthe cradle 26.

According to the above embodiment, as described above, the mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus 12 includes the radiation source 16, thecradle 26 serving as a mount for the cassette 24 which includes theradiation detector 40 for detecting the radiation X that has emittedfrom the radiation source 16 and passed through the patient (subject)18, and storing the detected radiation image information, and theconsole controller 130 for controlling the radiation source 16, thecradle 26, and the cassette 24. The mobile X-ray image capturingapparatus 12 captures a radiation image of the patient (subject) 18 atan image capturing site, e.g., the patient's room 110.

The transmitting and receiving terminal 28 of the cassette 24 serves asa mobile station and can communicate with the server 121 in themanagement room 116, which serves as a radiation image informationcollecting facility, via the mobile hospital communication network 104and the hospital LAN 100.

When the cassette controller 46 detects that radiation image informationis stored in the image memory 82, the cassette controller 46 sends theradiation image information stored in the image memory 82 to the server121 via the transmitting and receiving terminal 28, the mobile hospitalcommunication network 104, and the hospital LAN 100 while the cassette24 is moving.

Inasmuch as the radiation image information is sent to the server 121while the cassette 24 is moving, the radiation image informationsupplied from the server 121 via the hospital LAN 100 can be seen ateach console 120 quickly after the radiation image information iscaptured. If the cassette 24 is mounted in the cradle 26 while thecassette 24 is moving, the cassette 24 can be supplied with electricpower from the battery 27 of the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus12 for sending and receiving the captured radiation image information.At the same time, while the cassette 24 is moving, as described above,the battery 44 of the cassette 24 and the battery 268 of thetransmitting and receiving terminal 28 can be charged by the battery 27which is of a relatively large power capacity.

After the transmitting and receiving terminal 28 has completed thetransmission of the radiation image information from the image memory82, the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12 can capture radiationimage information of another patient 18 in another patient's room 110,using the same cassette 24, and store the captured radiation imageinformation in the image memory 82.

Since the radiation image information is sent to the server 121 whilethe mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12 is in motion to anotherimage capturing site, the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12 cantransmit a plurality of items of radiation image information to theserver 121 without delay even if the image memory 82 has a small storagecapacity.

The transmitting and receiving terminal 28 also serves as an exitdetecting mechanism for detecting whether the mobile X-ray imagecapturing apparatus 12 has moved out of the patient's room 110 or not.When the cassette controller 46 detects the movement of the mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus 12 leaving the patient's room 110 based on thedetection of the communication range 122 by the transmitting andreceiving terminal 28, the cassette controller 46 has the cassette 24start sending the radiation image information to the server 121.Accordingly, no radio wave is sent to and received by the mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus 12 while it is in the patient's room 110.

The mobile hospital communication network 104 includes the base stations124 whose communication ranges 122 overlap each other. If thetransmitting and receiving terminal 28 comprises an existing mobileterminal, e.g., a PHS terminal, mounted on the mobile X-ray imagecapturing apparatus 12 for receiving and transmitting wireless signals,then the existing communication infrastructure can be used without theneed for a new communication infrastructure for use between the mobileX-ray image capturing apparatus 12 and the radiation image informationcollecting facility. The mobile terminal may instead be a terminalhaving the same radio-wave oscillation intensity as PHS terminals.

FIG. 7 shows a wide-area radiation image information collecting system11 which includes the hospital radiation image information collectingsystem 10 shown in FIG. 1. According to the wide-area radiation imageinformation collecting system 11, a mobile X-ray image capturingapparatus 12 can capture radiation image at a home 111. The mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus 12 may be loaded, for example, on a van-typeautomobile in use. The radiation image information captured at home istransferred to the image memory 138 for storage therein. While themobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12 is moving on a road 129, theradiation image information stored in the image memory 138 istransmitted through the transmitting and receiving terminal 28, anexisting base station 124′, the existing public network 102, the mobilehospital communication network 104, and the hospital LAN 100 to theserver 121 in the management room 116.

In other words, the image capturing site where a radiation image iscaptured is not limited to the operating room 114, the patient's room110, and the examination room 112, but may be other places than theX-ray room 118, but may be a home care room at the home 111.

According to the present embodiment, as described above, the radiationimage information captured and recorded in the cassette 24 by the mobileX-ray image capturing apparatus 12 at a desired location can be sent tothe server 121 which serves as a radiation image collecting facilitywithout delay.

FIG. 8 shows a hospital radiation image information collecting system 10incorporating a plurality of mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12Aaccording to another embodiment of the present invention.

Those parts of the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A whichcorrespond to or identical to those of the mobile X-ray image capturingapparatus 12 shown in FIG. 2 are denoted by corresponding or identicalreference numerals with a suffix A, and will not be described in detailbelow.

FIG. 9 shows the manner in which one of the mobile X-ray image capturingapparatus 12A is used in the patient's room 110, for example.

The mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A placed on a carriage 13includes a console 14A having a display panel for entering imagecapturing information or the like for capturing radiation imageinformation or acquiring image capturing information or the like fromthe from the mobile hospital communication network 104 and the hospitalLAN 100, a radiation source controller 22 for controlling a radiationsource 16 according to the image capturing information supplied from theconsole 14A to apply a radiation X to a subject, e.g., a patient 18, acradle (cassette mount) 26 for receiving the cassette 24 which houses aradiation detector 40 for recording radiation image information of thepatient 18 when it is irradiated with the radiation X that has passedthrough the patient 18, a transmitting and receiving terminal 28A forsending radiation image information to the mobile hospital communicationnetwork 104 and acquiring necessary information from the mobile hospitalcommunication network 104 by way of wireless communications, and abattery 27 for supplying electric power to the console 14A, theradiation source 16, the radiation source controller 22, the cassette24, the cradle 26, and the transmitting and receiving terminal 28A.

The carriage 13 also carries thereon the speed sensor 32 for detectingwhether the carriage 13 is moving and the positional sensor 33 includinga navigation system utilizing the GPS having a function to detect thecurrent position of the carriage 13 and give navigation to thedestination.

FIG. 10 shows in functional block form the transmitting and receivingterminal 28A of the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A. Thetransmitting and receiving terminal 28A may comprise a PHS terminal.

The transmitting and receiving terminal 28A includes a terminalcontroller 240. To the terminal controller 240, there is connected atransceiver 256 for modulating data (radiation image information or thelike) read out from a console 14A into an intermediate-frequency signal,converting the intermediate-frequency signal into an RF signal, andsending the RF signal through the antenna sharing unit 266 to an antenna264A, from which a radio wave based on the RF signal is radiated.

FIG. 11 shows in function block form the console 14A of the mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus 12A. The console 14A comprises a consolecontroller 130, an image capturing switch 132, an image capturingcondition manager 134 for managing image capturing conditions requiredfor capturing a radiation image based on the radiation X from theradiation source 16, an image processor (image processing means) 136 forprocessing the radiation image information received from the cassette24A, an image memory 138 for storing the radiation image informationprocessed by the image processor 136, a patient information manager 140for managing patient information of the subject (patient) 18 whose imageis to be captured, and an ID memory 142 for storing ID information foridentifying the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A.

The image capturing conditions refer to condition for determining a tubevoltage, a tube current, an irradiation time, etc. required to apply aradiation X at an appropriate dose to an area of the patient 18 to beimaged. The image capturing conditions may include an area to be imaged,an image capturing method, etc., for example. The patient informationrefers to information for identifying the patient 18, such as the name,gender, patient ID number, etc. of the patient 18. Ordering informationfor instructing the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A tocapture a radiation image, including the image capturing conditions andthe patient information, can be set directly on the console 14A or canbe acquired in advance from the server 121 via the hospital LAN 100 orthe mobile hospital communication network 104.

The console controller 130 is connected to the cradle 26 by a connector144 thereof. When the cassette 24A is mounted in the cradle 26, thecassette 24A is electrically connected to the connector 144 by aconnector 48 thereof. The console controller 130 acquires radiationimage information from the cassette 24A through the connectors 48, 144,and supplies the acquired radiation image information to the imageprocessor 136.

FIG. 12 shows in perspective internal structural details of the cassette24A. As shown in FIG. 12, the cassette 24A has a casing 34 made of amaterial permeable to the radiation X. The casing 34 houses therein, inaddition to the grid 38, the radiation detector 40, and the lead plate42, a battery 44 as a power supply of the cassette 24A, a cassettecontroller 46 for energizing the radiation detector 40 with electricpower supplied from the battery 44, and a connector 48 for sending andreceiving signals including the information of the radiation X detectedby the radiation detector 40 to and from the console 14A. The battery 44of the cassette 24A can be charged by the battery 27 of the mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus 12A through the connector 144 and theconnector 48.

FIG. 13 shows in block form the radiation detector 40 and the cassettecontroller 46 of the cassette 24A.

The cassette controller 46 includes an address signal generator 80 forsupplying address signals to the address decoder 60 of the line scanningdriver 58 and the address decoder 68 of the multiplexer 66 of theradiation detector 40, an image memory 82 for storing the radiationimage information detected by the radiation detector 40, a cassette IDmemory 84 for storing cassette ID information for identifying thecassette 24A, and an interface 86. The connector 48 receives atransmission request signal for radiation image information from theconsole 14A via the connector 144 of the cradle 26 and transmits thecassette ID information stored in the cassette ID memory 84 and theradiation image information stored in the image memory 82 to the console14A.

The hospital radiation image information collecting system 10incorporating the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A isbasically constructed as described above, and the operation of thehospital radiation image information collecting system 10 will bedescribed below.

After having captured the radiation image information, the cassette 24Ais placed in the cradle 26 of the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus12A.

When the connectors 48, 144 are connected to each other at this time,the console controller 130 sends a transmission request signal forradiation image information to the cassette controller 46 of thecassette 24A via the connector 144.

If the image memory 82 of the cassette 24A stores radiation imageinformation, then the cassette controller 46 reads out the radiationimage information from the image memory 82 upon reception of thetransmission request signal. The read radiation image information issent to the image processor 136 through the interface 86, the connector48, the connector 144, and the console controller 130.

The image processor 136 processes the radiation image information, andstores the processed radiation image information in the image memory 138in association with the patient information of the patient 18 which isregistered in the patient information manager 140.

The radiation image information starts being transferred from the imagememory 82 of the cassette 24A to the image memory 138 of the console 14Aat the time when the cassette 24A is mounted in the cradle 26. Since thepatient's room 110 is not covered by the communication range 122 of thecorresponding base stations 124, the radiation image information is nottransferred from the image memory 138 of the console 14A through thetransmitting and receiving terminal 28A to the mobile hospitalcommunication network 104 as long as the mobile X-ray image capturingapparatus 12A is positioned in the patient's room 110.

When the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A moves out of thepatient's room 110 and the transmitting and receiving terminal 28Aenters the communication range 122 of the corresponding base stations124 of the mobile hospital communication network 104, or, in otherwords, when the transmitting and receiving terminal 28A detects apredetermined radio-wave intensity from the base station 124, thetransmitting and receiving terminal 28A indicates the detection of thepredetermined radio-wave intensity to the console controller 130.

The console controller 130 then reads out the radiation imageinformation from the image memory 138 and transfers the read radiationimage information to the terminal controller 240 of the transmitting andreceiving terminal 28A. The terminal controller 240 sends the radiationimage information sent from the image memory 138 through the transmitter256, the antenna sharing unit 266, and the antenna 264A to the basestation 124. The base station 124 transfers the received radiation imageinformation to the server 121 in the management room 116 via the mobilehospital communication network 104 and the hospital LAN 100.

The radiation image information transferred to the server 121 canimmediately be sent through the hospital LAN 100 and used forexamination by the doctor or the like who handles the console 120 in theexamination room 112, for example.

As shown in FIG. 8, since the communication ranges 122 of adjacent onesof the base stations 124 overlap each other while the mobile X-ray imagecapturing apparatus 12A is moving down the aisle or aisles 126 from thepatient's room 110 to the examination room 112 or to another patient'sroom 110, not shown, the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A canswitch successively to communication ranges 122 of greater radio-waveintensities. Accordingly, the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12Acan transfer the radiation image information reliably to the server 121without communication interruptions while being in motion down the aisleor aisles 126. When the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12Acaptures radiation image information in another patient's room 110, thecaptured radiation image information can thus be stored in the imagememory 82 of the same cassette 24, overwriting any existing radiationimage information. The image memory 82 of the cassette 24 is usually ofa storage capacity for recording the radiation image information onlyfor one sheet of radiation image.

Whether the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A is in thepatient's room 110 or not, i.e., whether the mobile X-ray imagecapturing apparatus 12A has moved out of the patient's room 110 or notcan be determined not only based on the communication range 122, but anexit detecting mechanism comprising an RFID card attached to the mobileX-ray image capturing apparatus 12A and an RFID card reader attached tothe patient's room 110 near its door.

According to the above embodiment, as described above, the mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus 12A includes the radiation source 16, thecradle 26 serving as a mount for the cassette 24A which includes theradiation detector 40 for detecting the radiation X that has emittedfrom the radiation source 16 and passed through the subject, and storingthe detected radiation image information, the image memory 138, thetransmitting and receiving terminal 28A, and the console controller 130for controlling the radiation source 16, the cradle 26, the image memory138, and the transmitting and receiving terminal 28A. The mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus 12A captures a radiation image of the patient(subject) 18 in an image capturing site, e.g., the patient's room 110.

The transmitting and receiving terminal 28A serves as a mobile stationand can communicate with the server 121 in the management room 116,which serves as a radiation image information collecting facility, viathe mobile hospital communication network 104 and the hospital LAN 100.When the console controller 130 detects, based on the transmissionrequest signal, that the radiation image information is stored in thecassette 24A mounted in the cradle 26, the console controller 130transfers the radiation image information from the cassette 24A throughthe cradle 26 to the image memory 138, which stores the transmittedradiation image information. While the mobile X-ray image capturingapparatus 12A which has moved out of the patient's room 110 is movingdown the aisle or aisles 126, the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus12A sends the radiation image information stored in the image memory 138to the server 131 through the transmitting and receiving terminal 28A,the mobile hospital communication network 104, and the hospital LAN 100.

As described above, when the console controller 130 of the mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus 12A detects, based on the transmission requestsignal, that the radiation image information is stored in the cassette24A mounted in the cradle 26 of the mobile X-ray image capturingapparatus 12A, the console controller 130 transfers the radiation imageinformation from the cassette 24A through the cradle 26 to the imagememory 138, which stores the transmitted radiation image information.While the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A is moving down, itsends the radiation image information stored in the image memory 138 tothe server 121 through the transmitting and receiving terminal 28A andthe mobile hospital communication network 104. Accordingly, the cassette24A is not required to have a wireless communication function and hencemay have a small power requirement. The cassette 24A can thus be smallin size and weight and can be carried around with ease.

Inasmuch as the radiation image information is sent to the server 121while the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A is moving, theradiation image information supplied from the server 121 can be seenquickly after the radiation image information is captured.

The mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A has the transmitting andreceiving terminal 28A which can also be used as an exit detectingmechanism for detecting that the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus12A has moved out of the patient's room 110. The console controller 130starts to send the radiation image information to the server 121 whenthe transmitting and receiving terminal 28A detects that the mobileX-ray image capturing apparatus 12A has moved out of the patient's room110 by detecting the communication range 122. Therefore, no radio wavesare sent and received in the patient's room 110.

The mobile hospital communication network 104 includes the base stations124 whose communication ranges 122 overlap each other. If thetransmitting and receiving terminal 28A comprises an existing mobileterminal, e.g., a PHS terminal, mounted on the mobile X-ray imagecapturing apparatus 12A for receiving and transmitting wireless signals,then the existing communication infrastructure can be used without theneed for a new communication infrastructure for use between the mobileX-ray image capturing apparatus 12A and the radiation image informationcollecting facility. The mobile terminal may instead be a terminalhaving the same radio-wave oscillation intensity as PHS terminals.

FIG. 14 shows a wide-area radiation image information collecting system11. According to the wide-area radiation image information collectingsystem 11, a mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A can captureradiation image information at a home 111. The mobile X-ray imagecapturing apparatus 12 may be loaded, for example, on a van-typeautomobile in use. Specifically, when a radiation image is captured atthe home 111, the captured radiation image information is transferred toand stored in the image memory 138. While the mobile X-ray imagecapturing apparatus 12A is moving on a road 129, the radiation imageinformation stored in the image memory 138 is transmitted through theconsole controller 130, the transmitting and receiving terminal 28A, anexisting base station 124′, the existing public network 102, the mobilehospital communication network 104, and the hospital LAN 100 to theserver 121 in the management room 116.

When expanding the use of the wide-area radiation image informationcollecting system 11 to remote areas such as isolated islands, themobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A may also have a function toutilize a satellite telephone network, instead of or in addition to thepublic network 102, for the use of the satellite telephone network.

In other words, the image capturing site where a radiation image iscaptured is not limited to the operating room 114, the patient's room110, and the examination room 112, but may be other places such as ahome care room at the home 111 than the X-ray room 118.

According to the other embodiment described above, the radiation imageinformation captured and recorded in the cassette 24A by the mobileX-ray image capturing apparatus 12A at a desired location can be sent tothe server 121 which serves as a radiation image collecting facilitywithout delay. In addition, the cassette 24A can be small and light inweight.

The present invention is not limited to the above two embodiments, butchanges and modifications may be made thereto within the scope of theinvention.

For example, the radiation detector 40 housed in the cassettes 24, 24Adirectly converts the dose of the applied radiation X into an electricsignal with the pixels 50 serving as photoelectric transducers. However,the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus may employ a radiationdetector including a scintillator for converting the applied radiation Xinto visible light and a solid-state detecting device such as ofamorphous silicon (a-Si) or the like for converting the visible lightinto an electric signal (see Japanese patent No. 3494683).

Alternatively, a light-conversion radiation detector can be utilized foracquiring radiation image information. The light-conversion radiationdetector operates as follows: When a radiation is applied to a matrix ofsolid-state detecting devices, the solid-state detecting devices storean electrostatic latent image depending on the dose of the appliedradiation. For reading the stored electrostatic latent image, readinglight is applied to the solid-state detecting devices to cause thesolid-state detecting devices to generate an electric currentrepresenting radiation image information. When erasing light is appliedto the radiation detector, radiation image information representing aresidual electrostatic latent image is erased from the radiationdetector, which can thus be reused (see Japanese Laid-Open PatentPublication No. 2000-105297).

Furthermore, communication frames, each comprising a plurality of slots,are sent and received between the base stations 124 and the transmittingand receiving terminal 28 of the cassette 24 at frame transmissiontimings that are shifted slot by slot based on a synchronizing signalused between all the base stations 124, and the communication ranges 122of adjacent ones of the base stations 124 overlap each other, with thebase stations 124 using different frequencies. All the base stations 124are timing-controlled to send communication frames such that at thetiming of the final intraframe slot of a base station 124 which ispositioned behind the cassette 24 (the transmitting and receivingterminal 28) with respect to the direction in which the cassette 24travels, the first intraframe slot of a next base station 124 istransmitted. The transmitting and receiving terminal 28 not only sendsand receives communication frames, but also tries to receive signalsfrom other base stations 124 in the final slots of the communicationframes. If the transmitting and receiving terminal 28 judges that it cancommunicate with another base station 124, then it changes the basestation 124 to communicate with. Accordingly, the transmitting andreceiving terminal 28 can send the radiation image information reliablywithout interruptions to the server 121 in the management room 116.

When the cassettes 24, 24A are used in the operating room 114 or thelike, blood stains and contaminants may be applied to the cassettes 24,24A. The cassettes 24, 24A may be of a water-resistant, sealed structureso that they can be sterilized and cleaned to remove such blood stainsand contaminants for repetitive use.

FIG. 15 shows in perspective a cassette 500 according to still anotherembodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 15, the cassette 500 has guide lines 504 drawn on theirradiated surface of a casing 502 as a reference mark for an imagecapturing area and an image capturing position. Using the guide lines504, the subject to be imaged, such as the patient 18, can be positionedwith respect to the cassette 500 and the range in which the radiation isto be applied to the cassette 500 can be determined, for therebyrecording radiation image information in an appropriate image capturingarea of the cassette 500.

The cassette 500 also has a display unit 506 outside of the imagecapturing area thereof for displaying various items of information aboutthe cassette 500. Specifically, the display unit 506 displays IDinformation of the subject, e.g., the patient 18, whose radiation imageis recorded in the cassette 500, the number of times that the cassette500 has been used, an accumulated exposed dose, the charged state(remaining power level) of the battery 44 housed in the cassette 500,image capturing conditions for radiation image information, and apositioning image representing the patient 18 positioned with respect tothe cassette 500, etc. The radiological technician can confirm thepatient 18 based on the ID information displayed on the display unit506, also confirm in advance that the cassette 500 is in a usable state,position the desired area to be imaged of the patient 18 with respect tothe cassette 500 based on the displayed positioning image, and captureoptimum radiation image in the cassette 500.

The cassette 500 includes a handle 508 to be gripped by the user tohandle and carry the cassette 500 with ease.

The cassette 500 also has an input terminal 510 for connection to an ACadapter, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal 512, and a card slot 516for receiving a memory card 514, all provided on a side wall of thecasing of the cassette 500.

When the charging function of the battery 44 housed in the cassette 500is low or when there is not enough time to charge the battery 44, an ACadapter is connected to the input terminal 510 to supply electric powerfrom an external source for thereby making the cassette 500 immediatelyoperable.

The USB terminal 512 or the card slot 516 can be used when the cassette500 is unable to send and receive information to and from an externaldevice such as the console 14A or the like by way of wirelesscommunications. Specifically, a USB memory 513 is attached to the USBterminal 512, and necessary information from the cassette 500 isrecorded into the USB memory 513. Then, the USB memory 513 is detachedfrom the USB terminal 512, and attached to the external device so as totransfer the information to the external device. Alternatively, thememory card 514 is inserted into the card slot 516 and necessaryinformation from the cassette 500 is recorded into the memory card 514.Thereafter, the memory card 514 is removed from the card slot 516 andinserted to the external device to send the information to the externaldevice.

FIG. 16 shows a cradle 518 for receiving the cassette 24, 24A andcharging the battery 44 housed in the cassette 24, 24A. The cradle 518is positioned in the operating room 114, the examination room 112, theimage capturing room 118, or a desired location in the hospital. Thecradle 518 may not only be able to charge the battery 44, but also havea wireless or wired communication function to send and receive necessaryinformation to and from the server 121 through the base stations 124,the mobile hospital communication network 104, and the hospital LAN 100.The information that is sent from the cradle 518 may include radiationimage information recorded in the cassette 24, 24A loaded in the cradle518.

The cradle 518 has a display unit 520 for displaying the charged stateof the battery 44 housed in the cassette 24, 24A and necessaryinformation including radiation image information acquired from thecassette 24, 24A.

A plurality of cradles 518 may be connected to the hospital LAN 100, andcharged states of the batteries 44 housed in the cassettes 24, 24Aloaded in the respective cradles 518 may be retrieved from the consoles120 and the server 121 through the hospital LAN 100, so that the usercan confirm the locations of any cassettes 24, 24A whose batteries 44are sufficiently charged, based on the retrieved charged states of thebatteries 4.

FIG. 17 shows a further example of the wide-area radiation imageinformation collecting system 11 including an X-ray image capturing andinterpretation system 550.

The X-ray image capturing and interpretation system 550 shows an examplein which the system 550 is used in a plurality of image capturing sites113 a, 113 b, 113 c located at areas 562 including isolated islandsremote from a central hospital 560. The image capturing sites 113 a to113 c may be a home, a condominium, a company, a factory and the like.

Further, a doctor stands ready at the examination room 112 as an imageinterpretation site where data communication and telephone conversationare enabled through the hospital LAN 100 and the mobile hospitalcommunication network 104 of the central hospital 560.

The radiation image information is transmitted through the publicnetwork 102 from the transmitting and receiving terminal 28A of themobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A or the transmitting andreceiving terminal 28 of the cassette 24 placed in the mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus 12 while moving around the remote areas 562.

The transmitted radiation image information is transferred to andrecorded in the server 121 in the management room 116 in the centralhospital 560, and then transferred to the console 120 in the examinationroom 112 for image interpretation by the doctor.

To simplify the explanation, the detailed description below will referto the operation of the X-ray image capturing and interpretation system550, taking the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A as anexample. The same can be applied to the mobile X-ray image capturingapparatus 12.

After capturing an image at a point Pa in the image capturing site 113a, the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A moves toward a pointPb in the image capturing site 113 b.

While in move, the information of the radiation image captured by aradiological technician at the image capturing site 113 a is transmittedfrom the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A to the console 120in the examination room 112, as mentioned above, through the server 121of the central hospital 560 via the public network 102 making up themobile communication network.

In the examination room 112, the doctor interprets the radiation imageinformation transmitted to the console 120. In the case where the doctorfound an abnormality in an organ, for example, a lung shadow, the doctorsends an image recapturing order including detailed image capturingrequest data (image capturing conditions, image capturing method, imagecapturing procedures), to the antenna 264A of the transmitting andreceiving terminal 28A of the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12Avia the public network 102 by using a call device of the console 120capable of making telephone conversation and data transmission. Thedoctor also has a telephone conversation about the image recapturingorder with the radiological technician who operates the mobile X-rayimage capturing apparatus 12A through the call unit 249.

According to the data communication and the telephone conversation, theradiological technician makes the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus12A return to the previous image capturing site 113 a, prior tocapturing a radiation image in the next image capturing site 113 b.Then, following the image recapturing order, the mobile X-ray imagecapturing apparatus 12A recaptures a radiation image of the patient 18at the previous image capturing site 113 a based on the request data.

After recapturing the radiation image at the point Pa in the imagecapturing site 113 a, the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus 12A,while moving toward a point Pb in the image capturing site 113 b,transmits the information of the recaptured radiation image to theconsole 120 in the examination room 112 via the public network 102.Thus, the recaptured radiation image information is interpreted by thedoctor again.

Generally, it takes time for a doctor to read or interpret a radiationimage. Therefore, it is preferable that the mobile X-ray image capturingapparatus 12A receives an image recapturing order while moving somewherearound a plurality of points Pa, Pb, Pc in the image capturing sites 113a, 113 b, 113 c along a road 129, and then returns to the site where aradiation image needs to be recaptured by utilizing the navigationfunction of the positional sensor 33.

Although certain preferred embodiments of the present invention havebeen shown and described in detail, it should be understood that variouschanges and modifications may be made therein without departing from thescope of the appended claims.

1. An X-ray image capturing and interpretation system comprising amobile X-ray image capturing apparatus for capturing a radiation imageof a subject at an image capturing site where an image is to becaptured, the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus comprising: aradiation source for applying a radiation to the subject; a mount forreceiving therein a cassette having a radiation detector for detectingthe applied radiation that has passed through the subject, convertingthe detected radiation into radiation image information and storing theradiation image information; an image memory; a transmitting andreceiving terminal; and a controller for controlling said radiationsource, said mount, said image memory, and said transmitting andreceiving terminal; wherein said transmitting and receiving terminalserves as a mobile station and communicates with an image interpretationsite through a mobile communication network; in a case where saidcontroller detects that said radiation image information is stored insaid cassette mounted in said mount, said controller transfers saidradiation image information from said cassette via said mount to saidimage memory for storing the radiation image information therein; whilesaid mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus is moving out of the imagecapturing site, said radiation image information stored in said imagememory is transmitted to the image interpretation site via saidtransmitting and receiving terminal and said mobile communicationnetwork; and after the radiation image information is interpreted at theimage interpretation site, in a case where it is judged that anotherradiation image of said subject needs to be captured, an imagerecapturing order is transmitted to said transmitting and receivingterminal of said mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus through saidmobile communication network.
 2. An X-ray image capturing andinterpretation system comprising: a cassette, said cassette comprising:a radiation detector for detecting a radiation that has passed through asubject, and converting the detected radiation into radiation imageinformation; an image memory for storing the converted radiation imageinformation therein; a transmitting and receiving terminal; and acontroller for controlling said radiation detector, said image memory,and said transmitting and receiving terminal; a mobile X-ray imagecapturing apparatus comprising a mount for receiving said cassetteremovably therein and supplying electric power to said cassette mounted;an image capturing site where said cassette removed from said mount isset with respect to the subject, a radiation image of the subject iscaptured by the mobile X-ray image capturing apparatus, and theradiation image information is stored in the image memory in saidcassette; and an image interpretation site where the radiation imageinformation is interpreted, wherein said transmitting and receivingterminal of said cassette serves as a mobile station and communicateswith said image interpretation site through a mobile communicationnetwork; in a case where said cassette is received in said mount of saidmobile X-ray image capturing apparatus and said controller of saidcassette detects that said radiation image information of the radiationimage captured at the image capturing site is stored in said imagememory, said controller transmits said radiation image informationstored in said image memory to said image interpretation site via saidtransmitting and receiving terminal of said cassette and said mobilecommunication network, while said mobile X-ray image capturing apparatuswith the cassette is moving; after the radiation image information isinterpreted at the image interpretation site, in a case where it isjudged that another radiation image of said subject needs to becaptured, an image recapturing order is transmitted to said transmittingand receiving terminal of said cassette through said mobilecommunication network.